Radiating module and the manufacturing method thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for manufacturing a radiating module consisting of a plurality of radiating fins, at least one heat-transfer tube, and a seat includes the steps of forming through holes on the radiating fins, extending the heat-transfer tube through the through holes on the radiating fins, and positioning a seat in an open-bottomed recess formed at a lower surface of the radiating fins to connect to the heat-transfer tube. The seat is made of the same material as the heat-transfer tube, so that heat energy can be quickly transferred from the seat to the heat-transfer tube and radiated from the radiating fins without the need of contacting of the seat with the radiating fins.

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10/786,034filed on Feb. 26, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,663, and for whichpriority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120; and this application claimspriority of Application No. 092135628 filed in the Taiwan, Republic ofChina on Dec. 11, 2003 under 35 U.S.C. § 119; the entire contents of allare hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a radiating module, and moreparticularly to a radiating module having a seat directly connected toheat-transfer tubes without the need of contacting with radiating fins.The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing thistype of radiating module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A heat-transfer tube is generally an elongated hollow metal tube havingtwo sealed ends. Theoretically speaking, the heat-transfer tube may haveany exterior configuration. A layer of wicks is attached to an innerwall surface of the heat-transfer tube, and soaked in a working mediumfor the heat-transfer tube. The structure of the heat-transfer tube mayvary with the amount and temperature of heat to be transferred via theheat-transfer tube.

Currently available heat-transfer tubes are made of different materials,including copper, nickel, stainless steel, tungsten, and other alloys.When the heat-transfer tube has an end positioned at a place having ahigher temperature, and the other end at a place having a lowertemperature, heat is transferred via the tube. Heat passes through themetal wall of the tube at the end located at the high-temperature placeand into the layer of wicks, and the working medium in the wicks isheated and evaporated. Therefore, the end of the heat-transfer tubelocated at the high-temperature place is referred to as the“evaporator”. The evaporated working medium gathers in the hollow tubeof the evaporator, and flows toward the other end of the heat-transfertube. Since the other end of the tube is in contact with alow-temperature place, it causes the evaporated working medium reachingthere to condense. At this point, the heat carried by the evaporatedworking medium passes through the wicks, the working medium, and themetal tube wall into the low-temperature place. Therefore, the end ofthe heat-transfer tube located at the low-temperature place is referredto as the “condenser”. The evaporated working medium condenses intoliquid again at the condenser. The condensed working medium will thenflow from the condenser back to the evaporator under a capillary pumpingaction. Through continuous circulating of the working medium between theevaporator and the condenser, heat is transferred from thehigh-temperature place to the low-temperature place. This forms theworking principle of the heat-transfer tube.

The heat-transfer tube has many advantages due to its unique structureand working principle. Structurally speaking, it is a hollow tube and istherefore much lighter than a metal rod having the same volume. Theheat-transfer tube has simple appearance to enable easy connection of itto other instruments. The heat-transfer tube has two sealed ends anddoes not need to add new working medium thereinto. It does not have anymovable parts and is therefore not subjected to any wearing and is moredurable for use. It does not produce any noise, either. According to theworking principle thereof, the heat-transfer tube has high efficientheat-transfer ability due to the evaporation and condensation of theworking medium inside the tube.

In addition, with the capillary pumping action, the fluid inside theheat-transfer tube may keep circulating without any external force evenin a weight-loss condition in the space. Therefore, the heat-transfertube is widely employed to use with radiators to effectively solve theproblem of high amount of heat generated by electronic products thathave very high operating speed.

FIGS. 1 and 2 shows a conventional radiating module. As shown, theconventional radiating module includes a plurality of radiating fins 11,a seat 12, and one or more U-shaped heat-transfer tubes 13. Theradiating fins 11 are provided thereon with through holes 111. When theradiating fins 11 are successively and parallelly arranged, the U-shapedheat-transfer tubes 13 may be extended through the through holes 111 onthe radiating fins 11 to connect to the latter. Paste tin is applied toa lower surface of the radiating fins 11 and a top surface of the seat12, so as to connect the seat 12 to the heat-transfer tubes 13. The seat12 has an area larger or equal to the lower surface formed from theradiating fins 11.

The above-structured conventional radiating module may be divided intotwo types. The first type of the conventional radiating module includesradiating fins 11 made of aluminum and a seat 12 made of copper. Theradiating fins 11 must be nickel-plated before being welded to the seat12. The second type of the conventional radiating module includesradiating fins 11 and seat 12 made of the same copper material, and cantherefore be directly welded together.

Either of the two types of conventional radiating modules has problemsin use. The radiating fins 11 and the seat 12 of the first type ofradiating module are made of different materials and use paste tin toweld to each other. Since two materials having different heatconductivity are used, the radiating module has poor heat transferefficiency. The use of a connecting medium, that is, the paste tin, toconnect the seat to the heat-transfer tubes further adversely affectsthe radiating effect of the radiating module. Moreover, since theradiating fins 11 is made of aluminum and must be nickel-plated beforebeing connected to the seat 12, the radiating module requires highmanufacturing cost while has reduced rate of good yield. The second typeof radiating module not only has reduced radiating effect due to thepaste tin, but also overly high weight due to the copper-made large-areaseat 12. Moreover, the copper-made radiating fins 11 makes the secondtype of radiating module 600-700 grams heavier than the first type ofradiating module having aluminum radiating fins 11. The second type ofradiating module is therefore too heavy to be accepted by consumers.

It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a method ofmanufacturing an improved radiating module to eliminate theabove-mentioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a radiatingmodule that has a seat directly connected to heat-transfer tubes withoutthe need of contacting with radiating fins, and can therefore bemanufactured in a simplified process at reduced cost and upgraded rateof good yield.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a radiating modulethat has a seat and at least one heat-transfer tube made of the samematerial, so that the seat and the heat-transfer tube may be directlyconnected to one another to provide enhanced heat conductivity.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a radiatingmodule that has a seat with an area much smaller than a lower surfaceformed from a plurality of radiating fins, so that the radiating modulehas reduced overall weight and manufacturing cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional radiatingmodule;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a radiating module accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectioned side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a radiating module accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectioned side view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a radiating module accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a sectioned side view of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 in which a radiating module accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, thefirst radiating module includes at least a plurality of successively andparallelly arranged radiating fins 21, a plurality of heat-transfertubes 22, and a seat 23.

The radiating fins 21 are made of aluminum material and provided atpredetermined positions with multiple rows of coaxial upper holes 211and coaxial lower through holes 212. The radiating fins 21 are alsoprovided at the same side around each upper and lower hole 211, 212 withan axially extended annular flange 2111, 2121, so that an air passage213 having a width equal to an axial length of the annular flange 2111,2121 is left between any two adjacent radiating fins 21 to allow goodflowing of air therethrough. Each row of the coaxial upper and lowerthrough holes 211, 212 on the successively and parallelly arrangedradiating fins 21 forms a hollow path.

A recess 214 is formed at a lower surface formed from the successivelyand parallelly arranged radiating fins 21, so that sections of the rowsof coaxial lower through holes 212 passing through the recess 214 areformed into several open-bottomed channels.

The heat-transfer tubes 22 are made of copper material and each has aU-turn portion 221, so that two ends of the U-shaped heat-transfer tube22 may be extended into two paths formed by two corresponding rows ofcoaxial upper and lower through holes 211, 212 on the radiating fins 21and thereby connects the radiating fins 21 to the heat-transfer tube 22.It is noted sections of the heat-transfer tubes 22 passing through theopen-bottomed section of the lower through holes 212 has a lower portionexposed from the lower surface of the radiating fins 21.

The seat 23 is made of a material the same as that of the heat-transfertubes 22, and has a flat bottom surface and a grooved top surface. Theseat 23 is located in the recess 214 formed below the parallellyarranged radiating fins 21 with the grooved top surface in contact withthe lower portion of the heat-transfer tubes 22 exposed from theopen-bottomed section of the lower through holes 212. Material havingexcellent heat conductivity, such as paste tin, gold, or silver, isapplied on the grooved top surface of the seat 23 to serve as a bonderto firmly bond the seat 23 to the heat-transfer tubes 22 at the recess214. It is noted the seat 23 has an area much smaller than the wholelower surface formed from the successively and parallelly arrangedradiating fins 21. Since the seat 23 and the heat-transfer tubes 22 aremade of the same copper material, heat may be quickly transferred fromthe seat 23 to the heat-transfer tubes 22 and radiated from theradiating fins 21.

A method for manufacturing the above-structured radiating moduleincludes the following steps:

-   a. To form coaxial upper through holes 211 and lower through holes    212 on a plurality of radiating fins 21, such that each of the    through holes 211, 212 has an annular flange 2111, 2121 axially    extended toward the same side of the radiating fins 21;-   b. To successively and parallelly arrange the radiating fins 21, so    that a space equal to an axial length of the annular flange 2111,    2121 is left between any two adjacent radiating fins 21 to serve as    an air passage, and the coaxial upper and lower through holes 211,    212 form several rows of hollow paths on the radiating fins;-   c. Extend two ends of a plurality of U-shaped heat-transfer tubes 22    into the hollow paths formed from the coaxial upper and lower    through holes 211, 212, so that the radiating fins 21 are connected    to the heat-transfer tubes 22; and-   d. Connect a seat 23, which is made of the same material as that of    the heat-transfer tubes 22, to the heat-transfer tubes 22.

Since the seat 23 is much smaller than the conventional seat 12, theradiating module of the present invention has an overall weight muchlighter than the conventional radiating module shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.Moreover, the seat 23 is in direct contact with the heat-transfer tubes22 without the need of connecting to the radiating fins 21. Therefore,the radiating fins 21 need not be nickel-plated in advance forconnecting to the seat 23. The radiating module of the present inventionmay therefore be manufactured with simplified process at largely reducedcost and upgraded rate of good yield.

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 shows a radiating module according to a secondembodiment of the present invention. The radiating module of the secondembodiment is structurally and functionally similar to the firstembodiment, except that it has a seat 33 different from the seat 23. Asshown, the seat 33 has flat top and bottom surfaces, and is providedwith horizontally extended through holes 331 between the top and thebottom surface. Moreover, the radiating fins 21 in the second embodimentare not provided with the coaxial lower through holes 212. Instead, theradiating fins 21 in the second embodiment are provided at the lowersurface with open-bottomed grooves 312, so that two ends of theheat-transfer tubes 22 are separately extended through the rows ofcoaxial upper through holes 211 and the open-bottomed grooves 312.Sections of the heat-transfer tubes 22 passing through the recess 214also extended the through holes 331 on the seat 33 to connect the seat33 to the heat-transfer tubes 22.

FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 shows a radiating module according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention. The radiating module of the thirdembodiment is structurally and functionally similar to the firstembodiment, except that it includes S-shaped heat-transfer tubes 43,each of which has two U-turn portions 431 and accordingly, an upper, amiddle, and a lower tube body 432, 433, 434; and two sets of radiatingfins 41 and 42.

The first set of radiating fins 41 are provided at predeterminedpositions with several rows of upper through holes 411, and at a lowersurface with several rows of open-bottomed grooves 412 corresponding tothe upper through holes 411. The first set of radiating fins 41 are alsoprovided at the same side around each upper through hole 411 with anaxially extended annular flange 4111, so that an air passage having awidth equal to an axial length of the annular flange 4111 is leftbetween any two adjacent radiating fins 41 to allow good flowing of airtherethrough.

The second set of radiating fins 42 are provided at predeterminedpositions with several rows of lower through holes 421, and at an uppersurface with several rows of open-topped grooves 422 corresponding tothe lower through holes 421. The second set of radiating fins 42 arealso provided at the same side around each lower through hole 421 withan axially extended annular flange 4211, so that an air passage having awidth equal to an axial length of the annular flange 4211 is leftbetween any two adjacent radiating fins 42 to allow good flowing of airtherethrough. An open-bottomed recess 423 is formed at a lower surfaceof the second set of radiating fins 42.

The upper tube bodies 432 of the heat-transfer tubes 43 are separatelyextended through the upper through holes 411 on the first radiating fins41, so that the open-bottomed grooves 412 at the lower surface of thefirst radiating fins 41 are seated on an upper half of the middle tubebodies 433 of the heat-transfer tubes 43. Similarly, the lower tubebodies 434 of the heat-transfer tubes 43 are separately extended throughthe lower through holes 421 on the second radiating fins 42, so that theopen-topped grooves 422 at the upper surface of the first radiating fins42 are abutted on a lower half of the middle tube bodies 433 of theheat-transfer tubes 43. In this manner, the first and the second set ofradiating fins 41, 42 are connected to the heat-transfer tubes 43.

It is noted the second set of radiating fins 42 have an open-bottomedrecess 423 formed at a lower surface thereof, so that sections of thelower through holes 421 passing through the recess 423 are open-bottomedto expose a lower half of the lower tube bodies 434 of the heat-transfertubes 43 at the recess 423. In this manner, the seat 23 may be locatedat the recess 423 to contact with and connect to the heat-transfer tubes43.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodimentsthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in thedescribed embodiments can be carried out without departing from thescope and the spirit of the invention that is to be limited only by theappended claims.

1. A radiating module, comprising: a plurality of radiating fins havingthrough holes formed at predetermined positions thereon, andopen-bottomed grooves formed at a lower surface thereof; at least oneheat-transfer tube, a first part of which is extended through saidthrough holes formed on said radiating fins, and a second part of whichopposite to said first part is extended into said open-bottomed grooves;and a seat having an area smaller than the area of said lower surface ofsaid plurality of radiating fins connected to said at least oneheat-transfer tube and in contact with said lower surface of saidradiating fins; whereby heat energy may be quickly transferred from saidseat to said at least one heat-transfer tube and then radiated from saidradiating fins.
 2. The radiating module as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid radiating fins are made of aluminum material, and said at least oneheat-transfer tube and said seat are made of copper material.
 3. Theradiating module as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least oneheat-transfer tube has at least one U-turn provided at a predeterminedposition on said heat-transfer tube.
 4. The radiating module as claimedin claim 1, wherein there are two or more said heat-transfer tubesincluded in said radiating module.
 5. The radiating module as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said seat and said at least one heat-transfer tube areconnected to one another via bonder.
 6. The radiating module as claimedin claim 1, wherein said bonder is selected from the group consisting ofpaste tin, gold, and silver.